་

gay people's

July, 1991

E AN OF T CLOSET EXPERIE E

Stepping off

K. Having

Volume 7 Issue 1

CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY

SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPT. PERIODICAL

ublic Library

Heveland

Cleveland, Ohio

An Independent Chronicle of the Lesbian & Gay Community

SILENCE

NOBODY KNOWS

DEATH

Photo by Tom Ritter

Tim Graley, Mark Peroni, and Phil Proctor (l to r) prepare to step off with the Pride'91 march. About 1,000 people marched through downtown on June 22 in support of lesbian-gay rights; about 2,000 attended the festival at the end of the march. (Complete story and more photos next month.)

Bill is aimed at nursing home AIDS bias

by Nora Vetarius

State Representative Madeline A. Cain, D-8, re-introduced the Nursing Home Anti-Discrimination Act in the Ohio General Assembly in June. The purpose of the Act (H.B. 456) is to end discrimination by nursing homes against persons with AIDS who seek long-term alternatives to hospital

care.

Originally introduced in the last session of the General Assembly, H.B. 456 would require homes to assign consecutive numbers to admission requests and to make

waiting lists available for review by the Director of Health, the nursing home ombudsman, the referring physician, and the discharge planner. Homes would be penalized for discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, ancestry, handicap, national origin, or age. The bill would give the Director of Health the power to revoke the license of any home found to have been discriminatory in its admissions practices.

At the time of the original introduction

At Rev. Hawk's discontinuance

by Sharon Gomes

June 13, 1991

We gathered under the trees at the main gate of Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania. At 12:15 p.m., we paraded up the winding walkway carrying signs which read "NO FEAR! No Shame!" to a horseshoe of beautiful old buildings connected by a large open expanse of grass. At the top of the slope stood a group of reporters and cameras. All three networks were represented as well as several Pittsburgh newspapers. There were 13 of them and seven of us.

We were there to support Rev. James R. Hawk, a non-tenured clergy in the United Methodist Church whose name was before 600 elders to decide whether to give him a church or move for his discontinuance. Openly gay, Rev. Hawk publicly challenged the church's 1984 ban on the ordination and appointment of "self-avowed, practicing homosexuals.'

Rev. Hawk is chair of the board for Educational Resources, Inc., a non-profit corporation established to promote the acceptance and affirmation of lesbian and gay persons, their sexual orientation, and sexuality. The organization works to encourage and strengthen gay and lesbian persons in their spiritual struggles, as well as working with religious communities to educate clergy and laity on issues sur-

rounding gay and lesbian concerns.

The 1991 conference of the United Methodist Church was about to begin. We passed out flyers to the members as they came up the walk. Only one person of color entered the building. At 12:30 p.m., the conference began with an opening hymn. I knew the outcome the moment I heard them sing. The voices of the few women in attendance were mute. The patriarchy was clearly in charge. First they would vote to allow Rev. Hawk to speak before the conference, an issue on which the body was very divided. Then they would vote on his discontinuance. We spoke with the press one by

one.

During the long wait I reflected on my feelings about what was happening. I had gone as a political observer and a person who believes in the freedom of all lesbian, gay and bisexual people to be open in their workplace. It is my belief that the power of religious organizations to influence social policy is immeasurable. Fundamentalists, like the neo-Nazis, will always exist, and liberals are already enlightened. It is the organizations in the middle which present our greatest challenge.

Effecting change is much easier with people straddling the fence. Reform Jews got off the fence last June when the

Continued on page 4

of the Act, said Rep. Cain, "persons with AIDS had no options" as to nursing home care. Social workers at Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals, which according to Rep. Cain have had among the highest numbers of in-patient persons with AIDS in the state, brought the problem to her attention.

The situation has improved in the Cleveland area since then. Twenty beds became available at St. Augustine Manor due to the issuance by the state of Ohio of a Certificate of Need (CON), but Rep. Cain feels her bill is still necessary because it is "designed to combat the problem on a statewide basis."

"A person with AIDS ought to be able to go to any nursing home they want to, "Rep. Cain asserted, "but within the nursing home industry there still is fear and lack of understanding relative to AIDS-how it's transmitted and how to deal with it." Universal procedures and precautions have been adopted in many branches of the health care industry, but nursing homes have lagged behind, she stated.

"St. Augustine Manor has bent over backwards to educate its staff, and this will solve part of the problem in Cuyahoga County but not the entire state," she continued.

Rep. Cain believes that "there needs to be much more of a presence in the legislative process of people advocating for those with AIDS." She said the Health Issues Taskforce has been very helpful, but overall she has sensed "great reticence" on the part of interested parties to work toward resolving the nursing home issue and sees a need for much greater input. In her view, "AIDS will become a bigger issue in the state of Ohio over the next 10 years." Monitoring legislation, testifying on bills, and letter writing are some of the ways interested parties can help influence the process. Letters may be sent to Rep. Thomas M. Roberts (D-37), Chairman of the House Aging and Housing Committee, to whom H.B.456 has been referred, and to Rep. Cain, c/o the Ohio House of Representatives, Columbus, OH 43215. ▼

Many young

gay men are having unsafe sex

by Lisa M. Keen

A "startling" report was issued on the day before the media and many groups marked the tenth anniversary of the official identification of the AIDS epidemic in the United States: The health department in San Francisco reported that more then one in ten young gay men are already infected with the HIV despite years of publicity about how to avoid infection; almost half of them have engaged in unprotected anal intercourse; and, as many as 90 percent have engaged in unprotected oral sex.

The report, presented June 4 to a commission which runs the health department, was based on a survey of 258 male residents of San Francisco between the ages of 17 and 25 who entered one of seven gay bars in that city between March and midMay of this year. Each man agreed to be interviewed and to have his blood tested for HIV antibody, two Hepatitis B markers, and syphilis indicators.

Twelve percent of those tested were infected with the HIV antibody; 26 percent showed signs that they were or had been infected with another sexually transmitted disease-hepatitis B.

Even more worrisome, noted the study's organizers, was the revelation that 42.9 percent of the men between the ages of 17 and 19 were engaging in unprotected anal intercourse one of the most expedient activities for transmitting the HIV. In this same age group, 90.5 percent were engaging in unprotected oral sex, a much safer form of sex but not without risk. Giuliano Nieri, an official with the AIDS office which conducted the survey, said that the 12 percent prevalence of HIV among the 17 to 25 age group was "startling."

"That's very high for that age group," said Nieri. "They're under 25. They became involved in sexuality well after there was widespread knowledge of how HIV is transmitted. Yet they're still infected." Nieri said his office was also very disturbed to learn that such a high percentage of this age group is engaging in unprotected anal intercourse.

Nevertheless, few media reports last month picked up on the study, conducted by the Surveillance Branch of the San Francisco Health Department's AIDS Office. Most media attention was focused, instead, on the June 5 ten-year anniversary of the Continued on page 4

Editorials. Letters

CONTENTS

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Garden Party. Gays in Florida hate crime law.. 5 Youth conference here..... 5 Lizzie Borden's Forty Whacks .. 6 Reviews: Olivor, Men's Chorus How I left my abusive lover Softball tourney here in Sept. Charlie's Calendar

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